Selective prosecution is neither justice nor good governance

WE in The Times have said it before in this space. Other Catholic bishops, most eloquently the bishops of the National Transformation Council, also have berated the BS Aquino administration, specifically its justice department, for practicing selective prosecution of wrongdoers. Auxiliary Bishop of Manila Broderick Pabillo, who is also the Permanent Chair of the Public Affairs committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, has in fact said it before, in private and smaller public forums.

But on Friday, at a press conference, he voiced the CBCP’s disgust over the Aquino administration’s crooked administration of justice. We pray that Bishop Pabillo’s call sways President Aquino and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima into correcting their unjust, corrupt, and condemnable practice of not going after criminals and felons who are Liberal Party leaders, and friends and allies of President Aquino.

Because of the Aquino administration’s selective rendition of justice, Bishop Pabillo expressed his doubts about the sincerity of Aquino and his people in treading the Tuwid na Daan free from corruption.

He pointed out that while members of the opposition have been charged and jailed in connection with the pork barrel scam, nobody among the administration’s allies has been prosecuted–even if it is well-known and sworn to by witnesses that scores of big shot politicians allied with and friends of Aquino and the Liberal Party leaders have amassed nearly as much money as Senators Enrile, Revilla and Estrada in the same kind of scams for which these opposition leaders have been charged and are now detained.

Bishop Pabillo said the pork barrel scandal should not be used to pin down only the members of the political opposition but also the allies of the administration.

“They should go after those involved in the pork barrel scam even if they are allies. It’s more believable if they do that. They should not use ‘Tuwid na Daan’ (straight path) to take down only their enemies,” Bishop Pabillo said at the press conference for the launching of the Serviam Foundation’s “Servant Leadership in Public Service” forum at the Archdiocese of Manila’s main office in Intramuros, Manila.

The bishop expressed his hope to see Aquino use his remaining year as president to fulfill his promise of “Tuwid na Daan.”

Perhaps pressured by incessant calls from the public for her to be fair and just in going after corrupt officials and lawmakers, Secretary De Lima at some point a few months ago promised to file charges against allies of the President about whose corruption DOJ investigators have gathered evidence and witnesses have accomplished sworn affidavits.

But these presidential cronies have not been charged until now. And recently, Secretary de Lima was quoted as saying that DOJ might no longer be able to indict these presidential allies because she and the prosecutors have more urgent and pressing matters on their plates.

Bishop Pabillo said that people have yet to see that “the path is really straight.” Adverting to President Aquino’s famous slogan “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” [There would be no poor people if there were no corrupt officials], the CBCP Public Affairs chief said something must have gone wrong with the “tuwid na daan” because many are still corrupt and many [of our fellow Filipinos]are still poor.

When people write their opinions their bias and/or penchants really show. How can you solve a complicated/complex generations-old social problem in even six years? Of course you have to start somewhere. The better way is to abet any effort to provide solutions to the problem rather than berate those who make those initiatives.

It’s very clear manifestation that this government only pin down the opposition.. the yellow ribbon government is not really sincere to stop corruption remember the DAF? from the office of the President itself..

“Lawyering” is not a license to arrogance and disrespect. Adversarial litigation system practiced in the country and other common law jurisdictions, has led many unwise practitioners to think that obnoxious conduct, is the mark of the smart lawyer. The primary responsibility, lie in helping to shape the future direction of the country’s jurisprudence, the bar and indeed society at large. Hence, “Achieving professional excellence is therefore predicated upon hard work, commitment and dedication,” Herein, I wish to stress / emphasize, that the legal practitioners, who being the first and foremost officers of the court, have the primary duty of assisting, in the proper administration of justice. It is therefore imperative that lawyers remain true to the core values and ideals of the profession, with deep commitment to rule of law, in a free and open society. Qualified Lawyers to be mentally strong and be committed advocates in real practice, with progressive thinking in relation to the legitimate rights of the victims. They should first learn to ensure handling their clients, honestly and be pitch perfect in their profession keeping abreast with updates and thus application of valid knowledge in the clients interest. It’s vital to be doubly sure that what you offer are chimes with their needs. If it does not, you could find yourself professionally conducting in an empty concert hall.
Undoubtedly, INTEGRITY, is the key to success in any human enterprise activities, BUT in the contemporary world, for many, integrity is difficult to uphold when the benefits of dishonesty are often so immediate, so immense and so alluring. Dividends of integrity are very slow in coming and sometimes difficult to see, yet that price is worth every sweat, every sacrifice and every deprivation of personal comfort and advantage.
“Any person with consciousness has to know we are here between being born and dying. We were born out of eternity and we return to a state of eternity. Wanting more from life than a glimpse is just to lose balance between existing and non-existing Education”
Dr.Chandran Peechulli, General Secretary, CHENNAI Society for Fast Justice, (Registered).

Pnoy aquino wins the prize for hypocricy and leads the most corrupt administration the country has ever seen.
Ask any businessman about the blatant corruption in customs.
Add to that his KKK and their involvement in nearly every scam going. No wonder nothing gets done – they are too busy with their nefarious activities.
Their desperation now is to ensure that the next administration will keep the lid on the reality of where all the money went.
Pnoy aquino has been sounding out poe to see if she will be amenable to letting the criminals escape. If so, she is no different, and as bad as the rest – deep down just another trapo.

The prosecution and incarceration of the opposition members is plain “vindictiveness” and not a sincere move toward eradicating corruption in the government. As such, it will just be a “vicious cycle” of going against ‘enemies’ by every new administration. This was initially exemplied with the impeachment of former CJ Corona. That was not an ‘honest’ display of getting rid of corruption. It was a personal vendetta. What a bad, bad precedent! Speaking of fairness and propriety, where was it, with the ‘corruption’ of the senators ‘finding’ him guilty? There are more negative than positive repercussions. If one believes in “Karma”, the bad effect will always show, sooner or later.

The title of this article speaks volumes of the missteps and whims of the Aquino administration. In biblical parlance, “reap what you sow”.